


Fish or be Fished

by DrabblingSparks (ingenious_spark)



Series: Saint Seiya prompts & short fic [195]
Category: Saint Seiya
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drabble, Fishing, Gen, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Mermaids, Predatory Merfolk, Prompt Fic, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 03:51:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19985632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/pseuds/DrabblingSparks
Summary: Aphrodite takes a break from traveling to resupply. The city on his map might not be there, but there's a lake, ripe for fishing.





	Fish or be Fished

**Author's Note:**

> From a list of prompts over on my tumblr, [@oopsbirdficced](http://oopsbirdficced.tumblr.com).
> 
> The prompts are all written by [@normal_horoscopes](http://normal_horoscopes.tumblr.com) over on tumblr! I encourage you to check them out!

_Leo: A city that appears on old maps. All travelers find now is a vast and muddy lake._

Aphrodite squints down at his map, and then looks up again. This… is not what’s supposed to be here.

“This was supposed to be a city,” he complains to his placid horse. The horse ignores him in favor of walking to the side of the road and dropping her head to graze. Aphrodite makes an offended little huffing noise, and double checks his map for any sign of when it was drawn. It’s clearly old, and no longer accurate. Aphrodite’s not certain if he should trust it anymore.

The reason it’s a problem is largely because Aphrodite had been expecting to be able to restock his supplies here. That’s clearly no longer an option- at least with money. The lake, for all that it’s murky, probably holds fish, though. It’s absolutely huge, nestled at the foot of a cliff like the outline of a cup.

Aphrodite sighs and dismounts, leading his horse further toward the water. The banks of the lake are shallow, and his horse drinks eagerly enough. Aphrodite doesn’t trust how murky it is himself, so he resigns himself to looking for a stream. There’s a small, sparkling waterfall crashing over one side of the cliff face, but it looks too far away. Hopefully there’s another source of running water.

He unsaddles his horse, trusting her not to run off too far, and drops his saddlebags in the plush grass beneath a tree. It takes a moment to disrobe, until he’s standing naked beneath the tree, and another moment to dig out the worn cotton pants he uses for swimming. This looks like a decent place to go noodling- it’s certainly muddy enough. Noodling isn’t his favorite method of fishing- it’s dirty, gross, dangerous work, but he’s never shied away from dirty, gross, or dangerous work. He just prefers to avoid it when possible, which is different.

He’s right. The first catfish is a pretty easy catch, and he takes a moment to gut it, before realizing he’s forgotten to set up a place to smoke the meat. He sets up a smoking pit fairly quickly through experience, and then wades out again while the first catfish is smoking. The water is a little warm from the sunshine, and he basks for a moment, going in a little deeper.

Aphrodite’s foot slips.

There’s a ledge, and he goes under for a second, floundering madly.

Something brushes against his ankle, and his heart skips a beat. Irrational- it’s probably just another catfish. He pulls his head above water, orienting himself, and realizes that in his failing he’s drifted further from shore. An easy enough fix. He strikes out for land, feeling that annoying brush again.

Except it doesn’t just brush his ankle. Something grabs him, and it feels like a cold human hand. Aphrodite can’t help a startled shriek. He looks down, kicking out to try and knock his assailant away. He sees something pale and white, like sun-bleached bones- almost eel-shaped, like a man and an eel combined. His heart pounds, but his assailant doesn’t let go, clearly better suited to this environment.

Aphrodite has the presence of mind to gulp in a deep breath before he’s dragged under.

Through the murk and the gloom, he sees it.

The city.

It’s here after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
>   * Comments not in English
> 

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> LLF Comment Builder
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> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will respond only with an emoji! I will respond only because I have some compulsive tendencies towards replying to comments.


End file.
